Trick of the Mind
by Gallifreyan Annihilator
Summary: John is a succubus, Dave is a Hunter. Neither know about the other when Dave moves into a flat with John in present-day Seattle. But John's paranormal "family" starts dying, and a mysterious enemy is gaining power from its resting place in the Abyss. Can John and Dave work out their differences - and emotions - to stop this evil? T for now, maybe smut in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

GA: I don't own Homestuck.

Hey look, another plot bunny that I'll probably never finish but I really want to, trust me I do, and I have a massive plotline for it and augh I swear to god I will finish this one, I promise.

I was watching the Homestuck music video for Radioactive (by Imagine Dragons) while writing this because yes it is beautiful. That twirl was like, so high-qual I flipped out. Oh sorry, that was so completely off topic.

* * *

**Prologue: Red Like Flames**

* * *

**20 Years Ago (1992)**

He didn't know what was going on. Everything was red. Red, red, red. It was hot, too, and he didn't like it one bit. Papa was laying on the floor, not moving. why wasn't Papa moving? What was that thing on Papa? "Momma?" he tugged on the battered woman's sleeve. "When is Papa waking up?" She looked at the child, tears in her eyes as she placed her hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Soon, child." She kissed his forehead. "Close your eyes." He did so, and the woman smiled softly, sadly at the child before tapping his nose three times. "Fly away, son."

The last thing the young boy saw and heard before he disappeared was the screeching of a giant white monster and her mother's pained shrieks.

They meant nothing to the young boy.

* * *

"What the-" A man, looking no older then to be in his mid-twenties, was taken aback by the sudden appearance of a chubby blonde child in front of him. The boy looked up, eyes wide with confusion.

"Where'd Momma go?" he asked, his voice squeaky and hoarse. The man's eyebrows crinkled in thought. This wasn't really new to him; the demon was a veteran in the arcane arts. But for a small child to just appear in front of him like that...and smelling of smoke, too? What was going on? "Do you know Momma?"

The man's eyes widened as the sounds of firetruck sirens filled the air, his previous questions answered by the boy and the firetruck racing down the street, towards the house of a couple that he knew were adept in magical warfare. Now at least he had a good idea of what happened. In such a suburban area of Houston, it was rare for fires to break out, and even rarer for them to not be connected to anything magical in the area. "Momma sent you to me," he said, picking up the young child. "You're safe now, little one." The child grinned, obviously happier now that he knew he was in safe hands, and papped the stranger's cheeks.

"Hehe, you talk funny!" he said, and the man sighed. There was no way he'd be able to take care of such a young child, especially with his...habits. Propping up the kid with one hand, he pulled out a cellphone with his other and dialed a number.

His phone rang exactly three times before the person on the other end answered. "Dirk Lalonde, consulting magician at your service. What can I do for you?"

"Dirk, it's me, John," the man interrupted him quickly, "I need some help."

* * *

"So you decide to come to me?" Dirk exclaimed after John explained the circumstances that led him to the blonde's office. "You've got quite a few screws missing, I'll give you that. What makes you think I'll be a better guardian for this brat than you?" He leaned back against his desk. "Tell me that, Egbert."

John coughed into his fist as the young tyke they were arguing about watched them, his head turning back and forth as though he was watching a pingpong match. In his hands was a box of apple juice, and he sipped it quietly while listening to the two men.

"You don't have certain _issues _to deal with," John said, making some sort of clapping noise as he angrily tapped one finger across his open palm twice, then two fingers once. The sign of the leeches. To be specific, the_ fornicatio hirudo_. "I can't lug a kid around with me everywhere! Much less a human kid!" Dirk sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Listen, I don't care what you do with him...well, nothing life threatening, you know that, but really! You can send him to a wizarding orphanage! Hell, you can enroll him in the Hunting school for all I care! I just want to make sure he's safe in your hands before I head out to Wyoming."

Dirk rolled his eyes and looked over to the kid. "Hey, lil man, what's up?"

The boy looked up at the older man and grinned widely. "Papa!" Taken aback, Dirk stepped away from the boy.

"No way, kid. I'm...your broth-...errrrr..." He trailed off as he realized what he had just said. "Damnit, John, you knew this would happen," he whispered. The raven haired man simply grinned widely.

"Does that mean you'll keep him safe?" he asked eagerly. Dirk sighed and decided that if it were possible, a headdesk would be the appropriate response.

"Yes, John, I'll keep the kid safe."

John cheered silently and picked up the boy from his chair. "Did you hear that? Your brother is going to..." He trailed away, his smile melting into a neutral frown as blue eyes stared into red.

"Hey. Hey Egbert, you okay there?" John tore his eyes away from the child's and nodded shakily at Dirk.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Wondering what was wrong, Dirk connected his thumbs and pointer fingers in a triangle before squishing them down.

"Are you sure? You...Oh. Oh hell no, man." John tilted his head in confusion as Dirk facepalmed. "Dude, just...that's just weird." Lalonde kept muttering to himself, but it didn't seem like the son of Eros was going to give up the secret any time soon.

"You're the one acting weird, Dirk," John retorted. "Anyways, I really have to go. My plane leaves in, like, a few hours, and you know how traffic can get."

Dirk made the triangular movement again and nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, yeah. Just don't jump any strangers on the way to the airport."

"Dirk!" John whined before taking one last glance at the kid. The young child tilted his head questioningly, and John nervously fumbled with something in his pocket, finally managing to pull it out. "Here," he said, handing the pair of sunglasses to Dave, "have him keep these. His eyes are...unique," John said, and Dirk snorted, not wanting to know where he got them - or how.

"And what about mine?" he asked, referring not to his eyes, but to the enchanted pair of sunglasses he had requested from John's sister.

John waved a hand vaguely in the blonde man's direction. "Yeah, yeah, Jade's working on it. The shape's going to end up weird, though. Something about the power concentration. Are triangle lenses okay?" Dirk shrugged. Anything that could stop his bouts of uncontained power every once in a while was fine by him. "Anyways, I have to go." He paused slightly. "And don't worry, I'll keep out of his business." Before Dirk could reply, John was out the door and walking down the street.

"That's highly unlikely," he muttered to himself, and turned to the child. "Er...what's your name, kid?"

The boy grinned at him, sunglasses clenched tightly in his tiny fists. "I'm Dabe!" he said, his _Dave Lalonde...No,_ Dirk thought to himself, sighing as he picked up his phone and dialed a number. Time for another name change.

"Hey, Serket, I need a favor. Yeah, that kind. How does Dirk Strider sound?"

* * *

**Seven Years Ago (2005)**

"Hey, Bro," A fifteen year old Dave Strider asked his probably-not-but-at-least-looks-to-be-thirty-two year old brother Dirk, "Tell me about him again." The older blonde looked over at the younger Strider from where he was sharpening a sword. He saw that Dave was fiddling with the sunglasses in his hands, a habit for him whenever he asked about his mysterious savior.

"Well," he said, leaning back and resting his hands on the stool he was sitting on, "how much you want to know?" His own glasses were still perched on his nose, and he stared at Dave, who glared at his brother before turning away, blushing.

"Well...everything, I guess."

Dirk sighed. No matter how much he said, it was never enough for the boy. He knew Dave would, of course, want to know more about the man that saved him from the fire elemental's wrath when he was a young tyke, the man who became the reason Dave trained to be a Hunter, but this was too much. Dirk knew he had limitations. No name, no age, no mentioning that _oops, you were saved by a succubus. The only male succubus in existence, in fact. Congratulations, kiddo_. "Well, he was tall. He had hair as black as night – you know, like Snow White and shit. His eyes were so fucking blue I swore he was going to turn into a giant puddle on the floor. And he was actually pretty short." He chuckled to himself as Dave stared at the wall, no doubt imagining his savior. He frowned after a second, and turned back to Dirk.

"But did you ever get a name?" Dirk winced, not wanting to lie to the young boy – _remember the line,_ he told himself, _let fate resolve itself _– but knowing he had no choice.

"Sorry, kid. We talked about you for a while, he gave you to me, handed you the shades, and bam. He was gone." The fact that he hadn't talked to John, or any of either of their relatives for that matter, since he took Dave in only made it easier to hide the kid, but he knew it would only last for so long. Although children of the goddess of love tended to stay within the boundaries of affection, Dirk knew what his Nereid half-sister told him, that saving Dave would only lead to inevitable downfall. Of what, she wouldn't say, but Dirk could only prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Dave put his shades back on, putting his pokerface back in place along with it, and picked up his own sword, a Morphing Weapon that Dirk had made for the blooming Chosen Child of Chronos. "I'll find him someday," he said casually, even though he knew Dirk would hear the spark of excitement in his voice. "I'll find him and thank him personally." He whispered a single word, and the broken sword in his hands changed so that it was complete, unbroken.

Dirk snorted and placed his hat on his head, drawing his own sword from the scabbard hanging at his hip. "Good luck with that, lil man." He grinned and his own sword hummed, ready for the heat of battle. "Now shut up and strife."

* * *

GA: Thus ends the prologue!

Translation: _Fornicatio hirudo_ literally translates (thank you, Google Translate!) into sex leech, an approximation of what incubi and succubi are.

There's going to be a massive textblock at the beginning of the next chapter to explain some stuff in the AU, I apologize for that! And then after that, there will be a few more, albeit smaller, paragraphs in some chapters explaining things (ex: Hacks, Puppeteers, etc. Stuff I made up instead of researched.)

Until then, so long!


	2. Chapter 2

GA: Glad you liked the first chapter! Here's another one for you! I'm so sorry that the update took so long (I haven't updated since last year! Haha...ha...yeah, that wasn't funny...), but I'm a slow writer. It can take me upwards of four months (AKA too long!) to finish a chapter; this one, I had finished half of before uploading chapter one. This gets especially bad during exposition chapters, like this one.

By the way, here's some info from the AU, concerning characters/demon races that are mentioned in this chapter.

**Note: In this AU, since demons are "evil", and anti-pious, they aren't allowed to say "holy" names like "God" or "Jesus" (witches and mermaids, etc., count as demons, too!), which is why they say "Gog" and "Jegus". It's also a large tip-off to demon hunters who can't see through Glamour, so they try to avoid saying even those words.**

**Demons have quadrants! Most of them will be extremely off-canon (ex Karkat/John moiraillegiance), but there will be moiraillegiances. There are a few tentative auspisticisms and kismesissitudes, but no promises on those.**

**Succubi and Incubi** are from the same family of demons, yeah, but the title isn't dependent on gender. It's dependent on who the demon attracts. So if you attract females, you're an Incubus, while a Succubus attracts males. 99.9% of the time, females are Succubi and males are Incubi, but there is always the odd one out. Enter John Egbert, one male Succubus.

**Asangs** are vampires who drink "blood" from vampires known as vampiric ink (not the writing kind). They're considered mutants. (Karkat is physically dependent on Kanaya, since Kanaya is the only vampire within the county who's able to put up with Karkat's bullshit long enough to let him feed.)

**Hacks** are humanoid demons with the ability to manipulate reality as if they were made of codes. Think of them as reality programmers. (Sollux is half Hack, half psychic)

**Jade is half shapeshifter**, half witch (four years younger than John). Her first Shifting went wrong, and she was left stuck in the half-wolf, half-human form she's in, AKA her Godtier appearance in canon. Jake is a full Shapeshifter, and even though giant wolves are a common Shift, this isn't Twilight. They can morph into a variety of other creatures as well; eagles, seals, etc. (ex: Aranea's favorite shifts are a giant hawk and a tiny spider)

**Marks and Imprints only affect matespritships.** Okay. So this is definitely going to be a long explanation. So, you remember the incident with John and Dave, where they looked into each others' eyes and John went all strange (okay, from John's POV, he had pretty much just fallen in love with a two year old kid, so of course he'd be freaked out)? That was a Mark (you can either "be Marked by somebody", or you can "Mark somebody", both are interchangeable), pretty much like finding your soul mate. It doesn't necessarily happen on the first try, it usually takes a traumatic experience to find your Mark (just like waking up on Prospit/Derse in canon), but hey. they're the main characters; plus, I think a raging, parent-killing fire and having a magical baby appear right before your eyes happen to count as traumatic experiences. Only John felt it, since humans don't have the powers that demons do, even Hunters. Dirk is _not_ an exception. He's the son of Aphrodite, who is a "goddess", AKA an extremely powerful and unique demon considered a deity by humans. But since John wasn't familiar with the feeling, he didn't know what the Mark was, and was scared by such strong feelings for an infant. Marking usually just forms the knowledge of the fated couple, but when concerning a human, can also supply Resistance, an energy that, as its name implies, gives its owner a resistance to Demonic abilities (please note that Resistance is not only inherited through a Marking, and that mortals can be born with genetic Resistance [like Dave] or have it implanted within their mana as well [like another character in the future]). Most demons don't realize the Marking at first, unless they've had a sibling become Marked and explain it to them. After the Marking, it's the couple's decision to become Imprinted. An Imprint is pretty much like a wedding, making the Mark official, with a few magical properties. If one of the two is human, then the human's life gets extended considerably; it's possible, but hasn't been proven, that Imprinted humans, like their demon counterparts, are immortal. The human also tends to receive some portion of the demon's magical abilities, if no abilities of their own were already possessed. However, there's a major drawback. If one of the pair dies, then the other half dies within two months of their death. It doesn't matter if it was a human or a demon, the other is offed within sixty days. The "two month" rule is really important here, especially with some...things that go on within the plot. Yes, people die. No, they don't stay dead for long. Well, technically. But I've spoiled too much.

TL;DR: Marks is Love. Imprints is Marriage. People die.

On with the story!

**PAIRINGS.** Something I almost forgot to mention. I'm only going to be saying matespritships here because if I also listed the others, it would get very lengthy. Right now, the endgame pairings I'm shooting for are: **JohnDave, RoseMary, DirkJake, Captorcest, Vantascest, NepEq, JaneRox, MeenAran, GamTav, VrisTer, AraFef and EriJade.** I outlined the plot before the other Dancestors were introduced/before I could get a really good grasp on their character (It took me an embarrassingly long time to get a good handle on Porrim's character, tbh), but** I might fit in HorRuf**. That's it, as far as pairings are concerned, unless I have to rearrange things (The first three are definite though, and will _NOT_ be changed.) or if you guys show a lot of interest in a pairing between two characters I haven't paired yet.

* * *

**Chapter 2 (John): Forgotten/New Start**

"John, are you sure about this?" Jade asked me for the millionth time. I rolled my eyes in response and patted her on the back as I carried the last of my suitcases to my car. I was moving out of the Crocker mansion for the first time in twenty-seven years, and into the actual, honest-to-gog metro area of Seattle.

"Don't worry, Jade, it'll be fine. I already got an offer from a cool enough guy." I chuckled to myself. "I've talked to him a few times online, he says he's moving up here from Texas." Jade's white wolf ears twitched slightly at the mention of the southern state, and she frowned slightly. She was still worried about Jake, our cousin and resident shapeshifter...well, one of them. He had been Marked by a good friend of ours, Dirk Lalonde, and hadn't heard from the son of Aphrodite for twenty years. Last we had heard, he had set up shop in, you guessed it, Texas.

Nobody would say anything, but they all knew who was to blame for that.

Jade turned to me and tilted her head to the side. "So? What's this guy's name? What's he look like? Is he cute?"

I had to hand it to Jade, she wasn't one to beat around the bush. "His name's Dave Strider," I told her, "I've told you that a million times, Jade. And for your information, I've never seen a picture of him. So I can't answer your other questions."

She growled at me, no doubt chiding me in wolfspeak for not even getting a picture. "Yeah, I still don't trust this Dave guy. He sounds like a tool." Ignoring her, I reached down to pick up one of the suitcases sitting next to me – and groaned as it was surrounded by red and blue crackling energy.

"Sollux!" I whined, and the black-haired man – no, he was still a kid, barely even eighteen – snickered from his spot at the top of the double stairs. The mysterious Hack was always prowling around the Crocker mansion, and had the weirdest habit of helping out with random things with his psychic powers. "Stop it! I can do it myself, you know."

He grinned at me as he slid down the banister, eyes flashing the same primary hues as the lights around my bag. "Nope, not doing it _thith_ time," he said, his lisp as obvious as always, "you're moving out, and I'm _tho_ calling your old room. The _leath't_ I can do ith help you leave." Another red and blue light surrounded my other suitcase, and they both went floating over into the trunk of my car, a blue Taurus with a ghost slime decal on the driver's door. Rolling my eyes, I gave up and got into the car, with Jade following me.

"I'm going to at least check out the apartment, and...Dave," she said, tail twitching behind her. I shrugged and opened the passenger side door for her. She bounded in, immediately rolling down the window. I didn't know if it was really because of her half-wolf status or because she really truly liked it, but whenever she was in a car, she couldn't help but stick her head out the window.

Despite the huge difference in circumstances, this day was no different.

When we arrived at the flat, the other parking spot designated for my flatmate was already occupied by a red Harley Davidson. "Looks like he's already here," I said cheerfully, pulling in next to it. The motorcycle was on the passenger's side, so Jade sniffed at it suspiciously as she exited the car, placing her hat on her head so as to not attract any attention with her wolf ears.

The landlady, a polite old woman named Mrs. Peixes – who just happened to be a mermaid, and the mother of a good friend – greeted me warmly, and I introduced her to my sister.

"Oh, what a darling!" Mrs. P said, grinning as she shook Jade's hand. "You're a Shapeshifter, is that right?"

Jade blushed deeply. "No. Only a Witch, ma'am. I...had problems with my Shapeshifter genetics."

Mrs. P frowned at Jade's words. "Only? Hah, I doubt that. One of the most powerful Demons back in the day was 'only' a Witch. You'll make a fine spellcaster someday, I can tell." She shooed us towards my room, promising to make Jade a copy of the key and send it to the Crocker house. As I practically flew up the stairs – literally, actually, due to the blessings of the wind spirits – I bumped into another person on the landing.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed, before looking up at who I ran into. It was a man no older than me...er, my physical appearance, of 25 years. He had soft-looking, platinum blonde hair and dark sunglasses that covered his eyes completely. "Ehehe, sorry. I guess I was in a bit of a rush. I wanted to see who my new flatmate was, and I kind of forgot my stuff in my car, and-"

"S'cool," he drawled, and I could hear the faintest bit of a Texan accent in his voice. "New flatmate, huh. You wouldn't be the Egbert kid, would you?" I grinned widely at his question. No doubt that this was Dave, all right!

I smiled widely, holding out my hand so he could shake it. "Yeah, actually. John Egbert, at your service!" He shook my hand just as I felt something bump into my back.

"Hey, watch where you're going, John!" Jade complained before looking over my shoulder and blushing. "U-Uh, hi!" she said quickly. "Sorry, I didn't see you there! I'm Jade Harley, John's sister. Who would you be?"

Dave nodded at Jade coolly, and I heard her almost undetectable squeak, smirking at her reaction. "Hey. Th' name's Strider. Dave Strider." I practically heard my sister's jaw drop at the statement. She was expecting some creepy pedophile, and then this cutie shows up.

Don't judge me, it was my sister thinking that, not me.

"Hi, Dave!" she managed to squeak out. "Er, I better get going, John, you know, things to do and stuff!" I grinned at her and winked.

"Sure you do, Jade," I replied, "go on ahead and leave me alone with this creeper right here." Dave snorted as Jade flushed several shades of red. She cussed at me quietly in my ear before heading back downstairs. I turned back to Dave and grinned apologetically. "Sorry, she can be kind of shy. Er, were you heading downstairs?"

I took a step to the side to let him through, but he shook his head. "Nah, I was just going to check on your mansion up on the hill to see if you were still there, but since you're here, apparently there ain't no need." I thought for a second before grabbing his wrist. He jerked back quickly, but I rolled my eyes, dragging him down the stairwell – either I was stronger than I thought, or he wasn't resisting as much as I had expected. "Don't worry," I laughed, rolling my eyes. "I won't bite. I'm going to take you over to the Crocker's so you can meet the others, okay? I don't want anybody thinking you're a freaky perv like Jade did."

Okay, I had to admit that the whole thing about me not biting was the truth. Yeah, I may have been a succubus – which meant, hey, I had to siphon energy off of the sexual desires of at-least-semi-humans of the male variety – but he was my flatmate, for pity's sake! He was paying half the rent, and I didn't want to A) scare him off, or B) turn him into a predatory stalker. That had happened once with a werewolf, and that was a time I was never going to talk about again.

Dave was content with me pulling him out of the complex, up until I opened the passenger door of my Taurus. "Oh hell no, dude," he said, and I detected the not-so-slightest hint of horror in his voice. "I am not riding in that thing." He twisted his arm and broke my grip on his wrist before grabbing mine, pulling me over to his ride. "Say hello to the Flame Baby."

I swear my eye twitched as I stared at the Harley in front of me. "Please tell me you don't really call it that."

"Dude, I'm not that much of a tool," he snorted. "Nah, she's a sweet ride, though." He grabbed the helmet hanging from the handlebar and tossed it to me, which I caught before raising an eyebrow. "What? You're gonna need the protection, bro." I rolled my eyes - I don't remember the last time I used any safety devices, seeing as how demons were practically immortal, or at least really fast healers – and put it on before climbing onto the motorcycle. Dave revved the engine and backed out of the parking spot before merging with traffic.

After twenty minutes of me giving him directions and Dave somehow still getting us hopelessly lost (well, not quite hopelessly, as long as we were in Washington State, I felt like I would be able to get us back to the flat), we finally arrived at the Crocker mansion. I jumped off of Dave's motorcycle as a whine came from what used to be my balcony. "You're back already? I called dib'th on your room, tho _thove off,_ Egbert!"

"Shut it, Captor!" I laughed, and saw Dave glance at the Hack. "Dave, meet Sollux Captor. He's a resident here." Sollux jumped off of the balcony, landing in front of Dave before promptly sticking a hand out.

Dave shook it carefully, raising an eyebrow. "So not all of you losers here are related?" I rolled my eyes at his question and explained to him the ins and outs of Crocker House. For those of us who were "in the know", it was a secluded home for wayward demons, or pretty much any supernatural entity that wanted to stay there, be it an elemental or an angel (although the last time that happened, half of our guests ended up exorcised; trust me, it wasn't pretty), to stay and avoid trouble. Of course, for everybody else, it was just an orphanage-slash-shelter run by the Crocker family for generations.

"My half-siblings Jake and Jane's grandfather and grandmother, Poppop and Nanna Crocker, used to run it." Semi-lie; Jane and I used to run it back in the day, back when Jade lived in Nevada and Jake had run off to who-knows-where, but it was mostly my sister who looked over everybody, since I traveled all the time. Plus, Jane had an affinity for Phoenix Fire, so growing old was no problem for her. "Then, their mom and my dad took over. My other siblings, Jane and Jake, were around six years old when their mom died, and soon after, Dad remarried and had Jade and I. Our parents ran the House until Mom died, and now Dad runs it alone." Most of that was the truth, but I had condensed over one hundred years of Crocker history into the time span of at least vaguely a human life.

As I explained everything that I could without giving him too much information, I introduced him to a few other residents of Crocker House. It was the middle of Spring, so mostly everybody had gone off into the woods for some special demon-y time, but there were still a few who preferred their humanity over their demonic side. Jade was in her greenhouse, watering the normal plants we had (our magical and medicinal herbs were stored underground), and she had a bandanna on her head this time. Tavros Nitram, the resident wood fairy, was helping her. He had nothing better to do, since his Imprint, a creepy juggalo Bogeyman by the name of Gamzee Makara, was off doing who-knows-what, as always. Then there was Aradia, a polite and oddly chipper Demon-cum-Necromancer who was extremely close to Sollux.

Finally, after the complete tour of the mansion, it was already getting dark. I looked at my watch; it was seven thirty, on the dot. "Hey, Dave," I said, taking his attention away from his undoubtedly riveting conversation with Aradia (I heard something about corpses, and honestly did not want to know). "It's getting pretty dark out there. Should we get going?" He looked outside - "aw hell, man, seriously? It was bright as a baby's newborn ass earlier." "Dave!" - and nodded.

Before we could make it past the threshold, a shadowy figure stepped in front of the door. "What," came an angry voice. "You're just going to walk out of all of our fucking lives and I don't even get a damn goodbye?" I grinned widely and dove at the not-so-mysterious person, and Karkat Vantas grumbled as he spun me around from my tackle-hug.

"Karky!" I shouted, laughing. I hadn't seen my moirail in a whole week, ever since he left to go hunting with the others. Every other day, somebody would return to the mansion to deliver what they had caught (and not devoured yet), and I noticed a large mammal - an elk or deer or something? - on the back of Karkat's black pick-up. I turned back to Dave and grinned as I wrapped an arm around the Asang's shoulders. "Dave, this is Karkat Vantas, my best friend! Karkat, meet my new roommate, Dave Strider." Karkat glanced at Dave suspiciously but said nothing.

Dave smirked. "Nice to meet you, Vantas."

"Whatever," Karkat snapped before turning back to me. "You'll still visit for Aradia's ceremony, right?" I nodded. Aradia, as a Chosen Child of Chronos, was meant to "rise up" in the demonic ranks, and her ceremony was in two weeks, May fifth. I assured Karkat that I had already RSVP'ed before hugging him one last time.

"You can't get rid of me that easy, Karkitty." He bristled at the nickname and shoved my shoulder. "Anyways," I continued, "I need to get back to the flat and unpack." I turned to Dave. "Is that okay, or do you have somewhere to go? I'm sure Dad could drop me off if he has to."

"Nah, s'cool," Dave replied. "I can drop you off, but I got a gig to go to afterwards." I glanced at him in surprise, and he elaborated. "I got a spot as a DJ down at Club Scratch. A man's gotta work for his pay, y'know." As we walked back to his motorcycle, I questioned him further on his career choice, and as he drove me back to the pad, I had a good feeling about things.

Jade was wrong, this was going to work out just fine.

* * *

GA: Au contraire, dear John. You have no idea how messy things are going to get.

Again, sorry for the late chapter! But sh!t goes down next chapter (AKA the start of the plot), so it shouldn't take as long to get up. Til then!


	3. Chapter 3

GA: Chapter three comin' at ya! Don't say I didn't warn you, because this chapter really lays the base of the first arc on you in one go.

Also, I bunped the rating down to T for now, but know that as soon as I get around to the smut part (which I am writing write now actually, because I know that I tend to wimp out of writing the hardcore shit at the last second), it'll go back up, unless I post them as related one-shots under a different title. Which will probably be the case now, all things considered.

**An important thing I forgot:** Glamour is the stuff that demons use to hide their true forms from humans. It's been used in other books many times under several different names (Glamour, the Veil, etc.). Demons come from two places: they can be born on Earth, where they retain mostly-human appearance, or in Gehenna (Hell/Alternia/Beforus/call it what you will), in which they have a much more demonic appearance when on Earth (AKA trolls). This was an idea I picked up from another fanfic I had worked on before dropping the idea.

**Selkies** are mer-demons, cousins to mermaids. They use enchanted items (specific to each person) to turn from seal to human form and back; when a seal, they cannot stay on land, and vice versa. (This is slightly different from popular lore. Slightly.) Wiki-able, but some of the in-fic lore is different from the Wiki lore.

**Nekomata** are Japanese cat demons. Wiki-able, but I'm not sure how fic-relevant.

Enjoy!

(PS, I've never written Aradia in my life, so sorry for any OOC-ness. Also, she somewhat breaks the fourth wall, I do believe. Yes, it'll happen, but it'll usually be plot-relevant.)

(PPS, Actual Sam Winchester Dave Strider. This will make more sense later, if you've watched Supernatural. If you haven't, no big deal, it doesn't affect the plot at all.)

(PPPS, I didn't live in Seattle, but I did live in Bangor, the naval base nearby, so a majority of the story _may_ revolve around there, and I already know that one or two important characters live there.)

(PPPPS, no excuses for super late chapter.)

* * *

**Chapter 3 (John): Dead/The First Blow**

* * *

_(Aradia)_

_The wind was warm that night, and the air reeked of incoming death. There was almost nobody on the street, and my Glamour allowed my grey skin and twisting horns to be hidden from those who didn't need to see them. It was dark, but I wasn't worried; nothing ever happened in Seattle. Nothing harmful to demons, that is._

_I brushed off a few of my wayward companions; the spirit of Mother, the ram that raised me, bleated at me, but I just continued my walking. "Don't worry," I hummed happily, "I'm just going to go visit Feferi." She let out another wary 'baa' before trotting off somewhere. She never liked the ocean that much, probably because she died tripping over a cliff into the sea. Poor Mother._

_As I took my first step on the boardwalk, I realized something was very wrong. Instead of showing it, though, I continued down onto the beach. When I reached the water's edge, I finally spoke. "I know you're there." there was a hurried shuffle, and I turned around. Just as I expected, he stood a good few feet in front of me, and although he was covered by shadows, I knew exactly who it was. "Nice night for a walk, isn't it?"_

_The man laughed. "Of course. But then again, I always have been partial to long hunts on the beach." I giggled at his joke, even though it was pretty obvious who he was here to kill._

_Me, if you still didn't get it._

_"Your disguise is absolutely horrid, though," I noted. "I mean, you think I wouldn't see through it?" He shrugged in response._

_"It was worth a try, and you're not the only target, anyways. Definitely not the one I intended to fool, might I add." I hummed thoughtfully. Of course I wasn't. He wasn't here specifically for me, nobody ever was. I was just a piece in the entire convoluted yet possibly devastating plot. "That's enough talking for now, Megido. Unless you have something else to add before your departure time?"_

_I rolled my eyes. This guy was getting annoying. If he was going to kill me, he'd might as well do it now. Oh well, if I had the chance to talk, then talk I shall. "Yeah, actually. I've seen how your little game is playing out, and while it's not exactly the sloppiest work I've seen - impressive for somebody like you, actually, to be so thought out - I'm just going to warn you that it'll never work. You're not even a true Child of Chronos. But anyways, know that I'm not going down without a fight."_

_He nodded, his pale hair shifting in the wind. "I'll give you that, Aradia. But I'd like to take my chances for now." He smirked and uttered a single word, the blade in his hand growing to its full length as he spoke. "There's a saying from somewhere far off that I was going to use, something someone told me once...what was it? Ah, yes. Arrivederci, Megido."_

* * *

I had fallen asleep around ten o'clock, having cleared my bed of any packing debris, and was woken up near six in the morning by the slam of the front door. Rubbing the sleep sand from my eyes, I sat up and peaked out of my room. "Hey Dave," I managed to yawn out, "I take it you had a late night?"

Dave nodded as he kicked off his shoes - red converse - and they went flying off somewhere into the house. "Hell yeah," he muttered. "I was up on stage for half the night, and the other half, the manager had me running shitty errands." I raised an eyebrow, and he sent me a deadpan_ don't even ask_ as he placed his backpack near the door. I didn't even notice that he had one yesterday. It was kind of ratty, its original red almost invisible under the streaks of dirt it was covered by. My attention turned back to him, as he stretched his arms upwards and yawned. "Anyways, I am fucking beat. I'm just gonna go and-"

"Dave, what happened?" I asked suddenly, noticing the beginnings of a bruise on his lower torso. I raced over to him and yanked his shirt up unashamedly, gasping when I saw the damage. There were splotches of black and blue all up along the sides of his body, and I retracted my hands when I received a pained hiss after accidentally brushing a finger over the damaged area.

Dave's voice was muffled by the portion of the shirt currently covering his face. "Woah, Egbert," he said, "Eager, aren't we? I know I'm sexy and all, but we just met. At least treat me to dinner before you-" I cut him off with a shush.

"You idiot, don't play that game with me. What did you do, fall down a flight of stairs?" There was an awkward silence before I groaned. "Go'damnit, you did, didn't you."

"Hey!" he said defensively, wrestling his shirt back down over his stomach, "for the record, I had no clue that the back door was twenty fucking feet off the ground - in retrospect, it was a two story building, but still!" I rolled my eyes at him. Seriously, I had known him for less than twenty-four hours and I already knew he was going to be a hassle to live with.

"I don't want to know about your affair with the sidewalk, Dave," I retorted. "Anyways, now that you woke me up, I'm going out for groceries." I grabbed my jacket from a nearby coffee table as Dave threw himself on the couch.

"Whatever," he yawned. "But if I'm asleep when you get back, don't wake me up unless, like, somebody died."

I waved him off and walked out the door. I stopped in the garage momentarily before deciding to walk to the store; the commissary on the nearby naval base was walking distance, and I had a friend to visit on the way.

It took all of five minutes to walk to Bangor, another three to get into the base, and seven or eight to catch a bus to Eridan's house. Eridan Ampora was an ex-naval officer, and, at the ripe age of 256, didn't look a day over twenty-seven. He was also a Selkie, a kind of seal-shapeshifter-meets-mer-creature. It was complicated.

"Eridan!" I called out to him as I opened the door to his house. Jade had given me a key after the last time the Selkie had dehydrated, to make sure there was somebody who could get to him at all times. "Eridan, are you here?"

There was a crash from further inside the house, and I winced as I heard a few strangled curses. "I'm kinda busy, John!" came Eridan's voice. "Ya think ya can come back later?" There was another crash, followed by...a hiss? "Coddamnit, Nep! Get down from there!"

I followed the source of the noise until I came upon an odd scene; Eridan was waving a broom threateningly around his kitchen, namely towards the olive green cat perched atop his refrigerator. "No!" Nepeta hissed as she morphed out of her cat form; she looked relatively human now, save for her Glamour-less horns and cat tail. "Not unless you get out of your stupid house and follow me! There's something wrong, I can just feel it!" I glanced at Eridan's disbelieving face, matching my own. Hardly anything ever happened in Washington State; the demon population here, unlike in more Southern territories, were known for being very calm. After all, the Northwestern tip of the continental US kind of coincided with a few unfortunate events that most stayed away from in the first place. "It has to do with Feferi!"

Eridan immediately bristled at the name of his ex-moirail. The two sea-demons had a falling out a few months prior, and it was still a bit of a sore topic to Eridan. "Fef can take care a' herself. She's told me on enough occasions that she doesn't need me," he huffed, though I could tell that he was still worried about her. "Now scat, Nep. I don't need you here if yer just gonna spout off nonsense."

Nepeta mewled at me desperately, but I only shrugged and shook my head. I wouldn't be able to convince Eridan one way or the other after he made up his mind. Nepeta glared at me, and I could practically hear her thoughts rolling off of her._ I thought you would be on my side, John. Way to betray me._

"Fine!" she snarled, "I'll just find somebody who's actually willing to listen to me!" She jumped off the top of the fridge, knocking aside Eridan's broom with her long slender tail as she landed on the cold tile. Within seconds she was reverted back to her cat form and racing down the street.

I glanced at Eridan, whose back was turned to me. "Listen, if you need some time alone, I can come back la-"

"No." Eridan said quickly before shaking his head and turning to me. "I mean, nah, it's all right. Listen, Egbert, can ya do me a favor?" He motioned for me, and I followed him into his study, where he grabbed an envelope with several magic seals around it. "I need you ta give this ta Fef fer me. She usually swings by the Boardwalk Rock 'round this time, since nobody goes to the boardwalk in the early morn, but I've got...business to deal with. Ya think you can do that?" I nodded and took the envelope from him, placing it in my backpack for safekeeping. "Listen...whatever Nep was talking about..." He hesitated slightly, growing silent.

"Don't worry," I assured him. "I'll find out what she was going on about." I grinned at him as he gave me a relieved smile of his own. He was never good at communicating - only recently had he begun to trust me, actually - and so usually went to great lengths to show disinterest in things that worried him. Now that I knew him better, though, I realized that he wanted to find out if what Nepeta said was true.

And to be honest, I wanted to know myself.

After picking up groceries from the commissary and dropping them back off at the flat - Dave was still knocked out on the couch - I checked my watch. It was only ten thirty, so I decided to visit the mansion, this time taking my car. Still on my mind were Nepeta's words. Nepeta Leijon, contrary to popular belief, was a very laid back nekomata; even though rumors spread through the community that she lived in a cave and ate bears she caught in the forest, she actually made the Crocker mansion her home, when not wandering the streets, and preferred cooked meat over raw. Hell, she was pretty much as more of a house cat than she was a demon! So if something in the air had gotten her as riled up as she was that morning, something bad must have happened. But what?

The answer was given to me as the estate came into sight. It was as if the entire demon population of Washington State was there. I could sense the presence of all the "residents" of the Crocker mansion, including me. The only demon missing from the group was Eridan, and I already knew where he was.

The first person to catch my attention was Feferi, the princess of the mer-kingdom of Piscis. She was sitting on the porch, hiding her face in her hands. Next to her was Kanaya Maryam, her eyes darting around as she comforted the other demon. Next to Kanaya was Karkat, looking more agitated than usual, and Gamzee stood behind him. Even the usually-stoned Bogeyman looked somber.

As soon as I stepped out of the car, a flash of black and green came running at me, and I found myself being hugged to death by Jade. "Oh my Gog," she muttered into my shoulder, "I'm so glad you're okay. Feferi called us all in, but Sollux couldn't find you for some reason, and by the time he contacted Eridan you were already gone, and I thought that...you're all right, right?"

I frowned, keeping Jade at arm's length as I looked first at her, then at the others. "Why wouldn't I be okay?" At that moment, Feferi looked up, and I noticed the wet tears rolling down her cheeks. "Feferi, what's going on?"

She spoke slowly, and as the words sunk in, a feeling of dread coursed through my body. There was no way this was happening.

* * *

_(Dave)_

_A sharp ringing sound startled me from my sleep, and I cursed as I tumbled off of the couch in search of my cellphone. "Strider," I answered it quickly after picking it up from the coffee table._

_"Hey, Dave." It was John, and I frowned. "I'm staying at the mansion for a little while, okay? Something came up."_

_I rolled my eyes before realizing that he couldn't see me. "Didn't I tell you not to wake me up unless somebody died?"_

_His silence was enough of an answer for me, and I cursed inwardly at my own insensitivity. "...Sorry. I'll see you whenever, then."_

_"Y-Yeah. Bye."_

_"Bye." He hung up without another word, and I laid back down on the couch, even though I was too awake to consider falling back asleep._

_I didn't realize at the time that sleep wouldn't come easily in the days ahead._

* * *

"Aradia Megido...the first Chain is dead."

* * *

GA: Wow, that took way too long to wrap up. Sorry about that!

Haha, sorry, but I won't be giving any hints to what Chains are. That'll be explained through the story. Til next time, whenever that may be!


	4. Chapter 4

GA: Less than half a year to update? Less than half a _month_? What sorcery is this? But yes, I have returned, a bit before schedule, fortunately, and here's chapter four! I've actually written chapters 4, 5 and 6, but I want to limit how fast I upload them, so I don't run out of steam. This chapter is actually going to be from Dave's POV, so we get to see what's going on with him. Haha, I guess that makes last chapter a cliffhanger of sorts.

Oh man, Doc Scratch will probably be OOC, I'm sorry. I've always been iffy on him.

Another vocabulary word in this chapter, **Spires**, but it'll have to stay a secret for now, hehe. More mysteries are introduced in this chapter, but some of them will be resolved fairly soon.

I have a question for everybody;** if you were a demon/spirit/celestial being, what/who would you be, and why?** It doesn't have to be something that I've mentioned, it could be anything! I think I'd like to be a Nereid, because I love swimming.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 4 (Dave): Hunters/Forging A Broken Pact**

I woke up around eight thirty, not having remembered even falling asleep. After John had called, I had had too much on my mind to relax. Soon after, Jade had called from John's phone, and explained everything. Aradia had been found dead on the beach, and shortly after, everybody related to the Crocker family had gathered at the mansion.

I sighed and rested for a few seconds before I heard my cell ring once again. This time, I leisurely stretched a while before answering it, already knowing who was on the other end. "What's up, Doc?"

"Please," the man on the end said, sounding ever so Alfred Pennyworth-like. "It wasn't funny the first time, and I doubt it will get any more humorous the longer you keep using it." I snorted at his pretentious uppity attitude before listening to what else he had to say. "I've just deposited your funds into your account, and the second target has been located. Not hard, considering the fact that they've all gathered in one spot. Demons can be so stupid, sometimes."

I merely hummed in agreement as I checked my e-mail. "Nitram?" I asked as soon as the picture of the familiar kid loaded. He looked like he had when I met him, but his skin was a light grey, and he had large horns protruding from his head. From his back sprouted two large, green wings. _Ugh_, I thought. _A fairy._ "He's the second Chain?" I frowned. "And why are we going after them in order? Wouldn't it be easier to just off the little mer-princess first, and then let the aquas kill the rest of them out of, like, revenge or something?"

"No." I was surprised at how quickly Doc Scratch answered. "Unfortunately, the Queen's figured out our plans, and as much as she wants her precious daughter killed, she's not willing to get the other Chains killed because of one mistake. As long as we kill the others before Her Imperious Condescension catches on that we're starting ahead of schedule, we'll be able to catch the fish girl last without any problems. And if all goes well, we won't need a blood sacrifice to keep the pesky Pandorah away."

I made a face of disgust at the name. Pandorah, the one who killed my parents when I was so young. The word itself was ugly, like the Pandora from Greek mythology who opened a box - because she was _curious_, no less! - and brought evil unto the world. No doubt the myth was borne from the existence of a demon like Pandorah.

I was brought out of my thoughts by the Doc clearing his throat. "I expect you to be more careful than last time. Your last target was just a child, and you almost botched it completely." Ignoring the rest of his rant, I tuned him out until he had something useful to say. "And for your sake, don't get killed by that idiot Son of Ouranos. That would be tragic. Where else would we get such...dedicated, a hunter?"

"Glad to know you care about me," I said sarcastically. "So much as to fail to tell me who the Son of Ouranos is. He's one of the Spires, you know that. Why don't we kill the airy bastard now?"

"You're always so impatient," I heard Doc Scratch sigh on the other end. "Unlike the Chains, with who we have some pliancy with order, the Spires must be killed in order. The Spire of the Light Goddess must be the first. And to destroy a Spire, we need to uproot her Chains. We've been over this." He groaned. "I know you crave death, David, but we need to be cautious in our proceedings."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm going." I hung up on the Doc before he could get another word out. Without thinking about where I was going, I grabbed my backpack and left the flat, just wanting some fresh air before I was drowned in blood again.

* * *

"Hey, Strider, where you going?" I glanced down at the small man hurrying to catch up to me before stopping and giving him a fistbump. Arty always seemed to be able to find me, no matter where I was in Seattle. It was annoying at first, but hey. He grows on you.

"Nowhere in particular," I said, slowing my pace so he could match mine. "Just walking. But I have business to take care of later, so you'd best be stalking somebody else. Hey, you know what I could go for? A chili cheese dog. A New York one. Funny, I've never been to NY."

He said nothing, only listened to me as I rambled on about nothing. It wasn't until I looked down at him that I realized he was on edge. "Yo, Arts, you okay?"

He seemed startled by my voice, and nodded quickly. "Er, yeah. I just thought I felt something weird. It's nothing, though." He looked around once more. "Hey, I got to go, all right?" Before I could say bye, he ran across the street as fast as his tiny legs could take him, barely dodging a car that seemed to not notice him at all. I rolled my eyes at his antics. The guy was probably mental or something.

I checked my watch. Nine o' five. Time to get to work. I checked the GPS on my phone, and set off for my destination.

The destination in particular was the forest nearby. I stood at its edge, staring into the dark woods. Even late at night, the entire scene was bathed in a bright light, and I squinted slightly from the burning my eyes received. "Shit," I muttered, the light becoming too intense, and ripped the sunglasses off of my face. Immediately, everything dimmed.

I never got used to the damn things. In light, they would darken my vision, but in darkness, they seemed to emit light themselves. Even when I complained about them to Bro, he told me to never take them off, no matter the circumstance. My whining stopped whenever he reminded me who gave them to me.

I placed the shades gingerly into my jacket and proceeded into the forest. Leaves crunched under my converse, and I kept a close eye out on every suspicious tree I saw. After the murder of the First Chain, no doubt, the other eleven would be more wary.

It seemed, however, that luck was in my favor. "Rose, I...I'm scared." Tavros Nitram's nasally voice penetrated the air, and I hid behind a tree as I watched him commune with a Nereid in half-human form, sitting in front of the wood fairy. "You don't really think it was on purpose, do you?"

"As much as I lament Aradia's death," the Nereid spoke, her words sounding like water flowing over smooth stones, "she knew, as I do now, that there's a fate awaiting all of us here. Did you know that she accepted her death?" Tavros gasped, probably out of disbelief, and I heard the sound of sloshing water. The Nereid was now standing, and I felt her look straight at the tree I was hiding behind. "You don't have to stand there the whole time, you do realize."

I snorted and unzipped my backpack. The noise was enough to make my presence known, but I didn't particularly care. Out of the bag, I drew my broken sword, Caledscratch. Only when I had it in my hand did I fully emerge. "You're perceptive," I said coolly. "Rose, right?"

Her eyes seemed to widen slightly, but she relaxed soon after and nodded slightly. "And I've heard much of you, Dave Strider. It's...unfortunate, that we had to meet under such circumstances."

"W-Wait, you two know each other?" Tavros asked meekly, and I shot him a glare before I realized that I still had my glasses off. Quickly, I returned them to their place across my face, and the place lightened up. It was a small sacrifice, to hide my eyes. "Rose! I...this l-looks dangerous, I'd better..."

"No," she said calmly, "stay. Trust me, Tavros. It's fate that we meet here." I snorted at her mysterious, oracle-like words. It was all a load of bullshit. Tavros seemed to relax, though, which I silently thanked her for. I tightened my grip on my broken blade as I pointed it at the fairy in question.

"You." He pointed at himself as if he were questioning me, and I rolled my eyes. "No, the other fairy here. Yeah, you. Stand still so I can get rid of you properly." I readied myself, and Tavros seemed rooted to the spot as I dashed towards him, fear filling his eyes.

_Step one, remove the Glamour._

As I swung the broken Caledscratch upwards towards him, it caught on something, and I ripped the sword upwards. A tearing sound echoed through my mind, and Tavros's true nature was revealed. He stumbled backwards as the Glamous around him was destroyed, but his large horns caught between two close trees.

_Step two, make it clean._

"Caled," I muttered, and the broken blade in my hands glowed with a red light before growing. The light disappeared, revealing the full, completely unbroken Caledscratch.

My first strike barely missed his head by a centimeter, instead slicing through one of his hard horns. He gave out a cry, and the horn -_ reminiscent of a longhorn,_ I thought afterwards, _but I was more of an Aggie person anyways_ - fell to the ground. Tavros fell to the ground from the sudden imbalance, and I stood over him, sword hovering over his heart. "W-Why...?" he whispered, and I shook my head.

"It's just business." In one fluid motion, the blade disappeared into his chest. Brown blood covered the end of my blade, and I made a face of disgust at it. "Scratch." The sword returned to its broken form. As I stared down at the demon, I frowned.

"You may have been innocent, but it's for the best that this has transpired. _Requiescat en pace_." I leaned down to close his eyelids before turning to the Nereid, Rose. "So, do I need to shed any more blood than necessary?"

Her laughter was like water bubbling over a brook. "No, there's no need, dear Strider. I have seen nothing." Now that my focus wasn't on Nitram, I took a better look at Rose. The only thing that wasn't water at the moment was from the top of her head, down to her collarbone. Her eyes were a soft purple, and her blonde hair was held back by a purple headband. I narrowed my eyes at her, disbelief evident in my rigid stance. "I swear upon the light of Aether that I will not tell a soul what transpired here." She paused for a second. "It's not my fate to, after all."

"Fate, schmate," I muttered, but relaxed anyways and returned to where my backpack was, throwing Caledscratch in and zipping up the pocket. "Well, I'd say it was nice meeting you, but I don't remember _ever_ meeting you."

"Nor I you," she replied, getting my hint. "Farewell, mysterious stranger." I waved my hand vaguely as I walked off, and heard a splash as she returned to the river.

Now how the hell to find my way out of the damned forest.

* * *

GA: Rose and Dave say what now? The plot thickens, haha.

Before somebody says that Dave is a heartless bastard, he's been hunting for years now. He has no mercy for his targets. Also, he kind of understands the bigger picture, so to him, killing one innocent demon is worth saving the lives of so many humans.

Also, Rose is Rose. We don't know what's up with her.

In other news, I'm thinking of making a cover for the story, but I don't know what it should be. Any ideas? I want to incorporate more than just John and Dave into it, but I'm not sure how.

Til next time!


End file.
